Written questions by Pinkerton.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of houses in multiple occupation on public service infrastructure in Surrey Heath constituency.

My Department does not make assessments of the potential impact of Houses in Multiple Occupations (HMOs) on public service infrastructure in individual parliamentary constituencies. Local planning authorities already have planning powers to limit the concentration or proliferation of HMOs within their locality. They can remove the national permitted development right for smaller HMOs to protect the local amenity or wellbeing of an area by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction which, once in place, requires all new HMO proposals to secure planning permission. We keep the powers to regulate HMOs under review.

Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the number of Homes in Multiple Occupation in Surrey Heath constituency.

Data on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) is not collected by parliamentary constituency. Estimates of the number of HMOs by local authority in England can be found in Section F of the Local Authority Housing Statistics. Estimates for 31 March 2024 can be found on gov.uk here. Publication of estimates for 31 March 2025 has been pre-announced for 29 January 2026.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase opportunities for (a) children and (b) young people to participate in ice hockey in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.The Government provides the majority of support for community sport through Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in grassroots sport, including ice hockey, providing more opportunities for children and young people to be active.In the last financial year, 2024-25, Sport England invested £314,995 into the Surrey Heath constituency to improve access to sport and physical activity. Local Authorities in Surrey received a combined total of £1.86m of Sport England Funding in 2024-25.

What steps her Department is taking to use innovative modes of transport to improve road safety in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. This is underpinned through the four key themes of the strategy, one of which is taking advantage of technology, data and innovation for safer vehicles and post collision care. This details how we will make current vehicles safer, by mandating vehicle safety technologies and making use of both connected and automated vehicles to make our roads safer. All of this will be supported and monitored by a new Road Safety Board chaired by the Minister for Local Transport. Road safety is a shared responsibility, and this strategy reflects that. It considers action needed by government, local authorities, industry, emergency services and communities to tackle the causes of collisions and save lives. Partnership working and utilisation of local expertise will ensure that road safety improvements are seen across counties and constituencies, including Surrey and Surrey Heath. By investing in infrastructure, education, and enforcement, we are taking decisive steps to make our roads safer for everyone.

What steps her Department is taking to improve road safety education for young motorcyclists in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

On 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. Road safety is a shared responsibility, and the strategy reflects that. It considers action needed by government, local authorities, industry, emergency services and communities to tackle the causes of collisions and save lives. By investing in infrastructure, education, and enforcement, we are taking decisive steps to make our roads safer for everyone. The strategy is an opportunity to reflect on the changes and challenges faced by all motorcycle riders and the government has announced a consultation on an ambitious package of reforms to the training, testing and licensing regime for Category A moped and motorcycle licences in Great Britain. As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. To support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety. Local authorities are responsible for delivering road safety education and have a statutory duty to take steps both to reduce and prevent collisions.

What discussions her Department has had with Surrey County Council on embedding safety into road design in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Department has held no such discussions. Local traffic authorities are responsible for making decisions about their own roads, based on their knowledge of the area and taking into account local needs and circumstances. It is for them to ensure roads are designed in a way that helps fulfil their road safety duties. Good design can have a significant impact on road safety. The Department has long advocated street design that improves safety through guidance and good practice advice, in particular the Manual for Streets. As set out in the Road Safety Strategy, an update of the Manual is underway to ensure it continues to provide advice that enables authorities to deliver safer streets.

What assessment she has been made of potential correlation between proposals to introduce a six-month learning period for learner drivers and efforts to reduce driving test waiting times.

The Road Safety Strategy, published on the 7th January, includes consulting on a Minimum Learning Period before learner drivers can take their practical test. A Minimum Learning Period is designed to prepare people better for a lifetime of safe driving by giving them more time to build up essential skills. With more preparation for their test more people may pass first or second time, which could help reduce the waiting time for tests by reducing demand from learners booking to retake their test. Introducing a minimum learning period could raise driving test pass rates and for every 1% increase in pass rate sustained over a year, around 40,000 test slots are freed up over the course of the year. Research suggests that a Minimum Learning Period may increase the pass rate by up to 7 percentage points.

Whether her Department will consider increasing funding to improve the (a) security and (b) enforcement of vehicle registration marks.

On 7 January 2026, the Government published its Road Safety Strategy, which sets out plans to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Great Britain’s roads, including through a focus on robust enforcement.The Strategy also sets out the Government’s intention to consult on addressing the growing problem of illegal number plates, including ‘ghost’ number plates. The Department for Transport has published a consultation on proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences, including the use of illegal number plates designed to evade detection. Separately, the DVLA has been engaged in work to strengthen the relevant number plate standard and officials are considering options to support more robust application and audit processes for number plate suppliers.

What consideration is given to infrastructure deliverability, including transport links, utilities, and local road capacity, when selecting sites for new hospitals under the New Hospital Programme.

I can confirm that since August 2024, the New Hospital Programme (NHP) has been supporting the trust with their site selection process to ensure it is transparent and robust. This has included broadening search criteria and “blind scoring” of sites to establish a short-list of options for further consideration. No decision has yet been made on the location of the new Frimley Park Hospital, part of Wave 1 of the NHP. Any final decision on location will require a business case to be assured and approved through the standard business case process.Following Government guidance, all trusts are required to undertake appropriate levels of due diligence on potential sites as part of a site selection process. The selection process is designed to allow trusts to identify a smaller number of sites to investigate further and therefore it is expected that trusts will complete additional work on short-listed sites as part of the business case process to assess infrastructure deliverability including transport, utilities, and access.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 on (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

This Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. The provisional Settlement 2026-27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. For Surrey Council, we are making available up to £1.3 billion in 2028-29 in Core Spending Power, an increase of up to 6.9% compared to 2024–25. For Surrey Heath Council, we are making available up to £15.4 million in 2028-29 in Core Spending Power, an increase of up to 2.4% compared to 2024–25.

What steps his Department is taking to move (a) clinics and (b) routine appointments into community hospitals in Surrey.

As announced at the Budget, we are committed to delivering 250 neighbourhood health centres by 2035 across every part of England, and there are now also 100 community diagnostic centres across the country offering out-of-hours services, 12 hours a day, seven days a week.Community diagnostic centres are supporting one of the three 10-Year Health Plan shifts, from the hospital to the community, by offering local populations a wide range of diagnostic tests including imaging tests, endoscopies, and respiratory tests, closer to home, as well as greater choice on where and how they are undertaken, reducing pressure on acute hospital sites.Over time our aim is also to have a Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together appropriate National Health Service, local authority, and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations, and to help move care from hospitals into community settings.Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels, targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning, including planning, securing, and monitoring, general practice services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. Both ICBs and local health systems will be responsible for determining the most appropriate locations for neighbourhood health centres.

What assessment his Department has made of the (a) transparency and (b) consistency of site selection processes used under the New Hospital Programme for Frimley Park Hospital.

I can confirm that since August 2024, the New Hospital Programme (NHP) has been supporting the trust with their site selection process to ensure it is transparent and robust. This has included broadening search criteria and “blind scoring” of sites to establish a short-list of options for further consideration. No decision has yet been made on the location of the new Frimley Park Hospital, part of Wave 1 of the NHP. Any final decision on location will require a business case to be assured and approved through the standard business case process.Following Government guidance, all trusts are required to undertake appropriate levels of due diligence on potential sites as part of a site selection process. The selection process is designed to allow trusts to identify a smaller number of sites to investigate further and therefore it is expected that trusts will complete additional work on short-listed sites as part of the business case process to assess infrastructure deliverability including transport, utilities, and access.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure greater (a) consistency and (b) fairness in NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility decisions across Integrated Care Boards for people with progressive neurological conditions.

Operational delivery of NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) with oversight from NHS England. The Department’s statutory guidance on CHC supports practitioners to assess and deliver CHC appropriately, which all ICBs must follow. Eligibility for CHC is not determined by age, diagnosis, condition, or financial means, but is assessed on an individual basis. Eligibility may vary across ICBs due to factors such as the age profile of the local population and differing health needs between regions. NHS England’s assurance regime promotes accurate assessment, equal access, and consistency within CHC delivery. Their assurance model focusses on reducing variation in the delivery of CHC services across England. The NHS All Age Continuing Care Data Set, which was launched in April 2025, provides NHS England with regional, ICB, and sub-ICB-level data on CHC eligibility, referrals, and assessment outcomes to help monitor and improve CHC delivery.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS staff are not overstretched and are able to take sufficient rest breaks during their working hours in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Department is committed to ensuring that National Health Service staff in Surrey Heath, and across the country more widely, are able to take sufficient rest breaks during their working hours in compliance with the Working Time Regulations 1998. The NHS staff terms and conditions of service set out clear entitlements for staff rest breaks with provisions stating that any member of staff working a shift of more than six hours is entitled to have a minimum of one 20-minute rest break, and for this break to be uninterrupted. Where possible, local policies may provide for longer or additional breaks, and employers are encouraged to support flexible working arrangements to enable staff to take appropriate rest and manage workload pressures.Employers are responsible for ensuring rotas and staffing levels take account of statutory and contractual break entitlements, and that staff are able to take these breaks safely and without detriment to patient care. The Department continues to work with NHS organisations to promote staff wellbeing, recognising that adequate rest is essential for both effective patient care and staff health.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of progression rates from foundation to other low-level courses in colleges in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The department works closely with the four general further education colleges in Surrey: Brooklands, East Surrey, Nescot and Activate. The colleges collaborate through Surrey FE to support recruitment and progression across Surrey. Each college has worked towards targets in their accountability agreements, which include clear progression routes at all levels. This work is supported by the FE Provider Dashboard, which provides insight into progression and employment outcomes and informs annual strategic conversations with colleges. Ofsted’s new framework will measure college achievement and performance, particularly in relation to those who are disadvantaged, those with special educational needs and disabilities or high needs, those who are known (or previously known) to social care, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and well-being, including those without level 2 English or mathematics The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out how we will make 16-19 pathways easier to navigate. The department will introduce V Levels as a new vocational option that sits alongside A levels and T Levels at Level 3, and will feature nationally set content linked to job standards, giving students clear, industry relevant choices. We will also introduce two new dedicated pathways at Level 2: an occupational pathway to prepare students for work, and a further study pathway to help students progress to higher levels of study.

If her Department will consider the potential merits of increasing funding for pavement parking enforcement in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Department for Transport recognises the importance of safe and accessible pavements for all road users. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing pavement parking restrictions under existing civil parking enforcement powers, and statutory guidance advises that these operations should be self-financing. While we keep enforcement policy under review, there are currently no plans to provide additional central funding for pavement parking enforcement in Surrey or Surrey Heath. New devolved pavement parking powers were announced on 8 January 2026 and we will work with local government to develop the approach to implementation.

Whether his Department has data on the average waiting times for (a) ADHD and (b) Autism assessments for young people in the (i) South East, (ii) Surrey, and (iii) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including provision of autism and ADHD services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.The NICE guidance for the assessment of autism recommends that the length between referral and first appointment should be no more than 13 weeks. We know that this is not happening routinely across the country. In respect of ADHD, the NICE guideline on ADHD does not recommend a maximum waiting time for people to receive an assessment for ADHD or a diagnosis, however it sets out best practice on providing a diagnosis.There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for assessment and diagnosis for ADHD for individual organisations or geographies in England. Although the data requested is not held centrally, it may be held locally by individual NHS trusts or commissioners. NHS England published management information on ADHD waits at a national level for the first time on 29 May 2025 as part of its ADHD data improvement plan, which is avaiable at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mi-adhd/november-2025 In respect of autism, the most recent data, published on 13 November 2025, is available on the NHS England website at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/autism-statistics/october-2024-to-september-2025Through the NHS Medium-term planning framework, published 24 October 2025, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD, and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for (a) ADHD and (b) autism assessments for children and young people in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including provision of autism and ADHD services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.The NICE guidance for the assessment of autism recommends that the length between referral and first appointment should be no more than 13 weeks. We know that this is not happening routinely across the country. In respect of ADHD, the NICE guideline on ADHD does not recommend a maximum waiting time for people to receive an assessment for ADHD or a diagnosis, however it sets out best practice on providing a diagnosis.There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for assessment and diagnosis for ADHD for individual organisations or geographies in England. Although the data requested is not held centrally, it may be held locally by individual NHS trusts or commissioners. NHS England published management information on ADHD waits at a national level for the first time on 29 May 2025 as part of its ADHD data improvement plan, which is avaiable at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mi-adhd/november-2025 In respect of autism, the most recent data, published on 13 November 2025, is available on the NHS England website at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/autism-statistics/october-2024-to-september-2025Through the NHS Medium-term planning framework, published 24 October 2025, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD, and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.

What guidance is issued to NHS Continuing Healthcare decision-makers on assessing complex and high-intensity care needs for people with (a) progressive and (b) degenerative conditions in Surrey.

The Department has provided detailed statutory guidance, the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare, and National Health Service-funded Nursing Care (the National Framework), on the process for determining eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) which all integrated care boards (ICBs), including the Surrey Heartlands ICB, must follow. It sets out that all arrangements should place the individual at the centre of the assessment and care-planning process. The National Framework supports practitioners across health and social care to undertake assessments and deliver CHC appropriately. It should be read alongside the national assessment tools. This includes the decision support tool, which aids consistent decision making and supports a multidisciplinary team of professionals to assess an individual’s needs. The National Framework sets out that it is best practice for someone with specialist knowledge of the individual’s condition to be involved in the assessment process. To support practitioners to apply the National Framework, NHS England has developed and published a comprehensive set of online learning resources.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the accessibility of regular NHS dental check-up appointments in Surrey Heath constituency.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a National Health Service dentist, particularly in areas such as Surrey, and are taking steps to address this.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Surrey Heath constituency, this is the Surrey Heartlands ICB.We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. These extra appointments have been made available from April 2025.We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with the greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on recall intervals state that a healthy adult with good oral health needs to see a dentist once every two years, and a child once every year. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms